


Alone

by MagicaLyss



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Electrocution, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt Peter Parker, Kidnapped, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Sorry Not Sorry, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 17:41:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17513015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicaLyss/pseuds/MagicaLyss
Summary: "I'm sorry. I'm going to try to be brave, Mister. Stark, but I don't know if I can. I'm really scared... and I, um, I don't want to die."





	1. Ring Around the Rosy

Peter always had very telling emotions, especially to someone like Tony who could read them all like the back of his hand. From his happy rambling with his lit up brown eyes like everything in the world was his. To his shy sadness, keeping to himself and moving fingers. All the way to his shaky fear with nervous words and always subconsciously looking for protection.

Peter had never had a very normal life, but he tried his best to be a good person, taking after all his role models, getting good grades, being the friendly neighborhood Spiderman, and keeping his friends close. He always believed to the best of his abilities that because of all the good he did in the world, he would get good karma in return.

But unfortunately, not everything works out exactly how you planned it would be.   
  
  


He had been working with Mr. Stark on a project when he had suggested that they should go out to get some food. Mr. Stark thought this was a fantastic idea, and so they went out to eat at a nice fancy restaurant even though Peter insisted they could just go get sandwiches or something in Queens. On the way back, it had been dark and gloomy outside. Peter had felt his spidey senses ringing in the back of his head, but he knew he'd be safe with Mr. Stark. Nothing could happen to him when he was with Iron Man.

Before he could understand what was happening, he was being grabbed from behind. A burlap sack was tugged over his head, blocking his vision. He tried to fight, he really did, but a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head, and he lost consciousness before he could get away.

*

His head was throbbing as he slowly woke up. The first thing he noticed was the darkness. It was like he was trapped in endless darkness. He couldn't even make out his own hands in the black of the unfamiliar room. His wrists were shackled behind the back of the chair he was strapped to and his ankles were cuffed to the chair legs. A gag was loosely hanging around his neck, and his curling hair was limp and damp with sweat.

"M...Mister. Stark?" he calls out, voice hoarse and shaky.   
  
  


Tony was behind a sheet of one-way glass. He could see everything happening in the other room, but no matter how loud he yelled, Peter couldn't hear a word he was saying.

Tony hadn't been scared when he first awoke after being kidnapped. He's had his fair share of kidnappings, and he's still fine. They could do whatever they wanted to him. But the moment he saw Peter, scared and alone behind the one-way glass, fear struck through the heart he didn't even know he still had.

"Mister Stark?" the kid calls out again, obviously terrified. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face and he's breathing faster than his heart can beat. "Mr. Stark, I don't know if you're still sleeping or maybe you're not here, but... but, uh, I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Mr. Stark. I don't know how to fix this. I'm sorry."

Tony wanted to tell the kid that it wasn't his fault and that he didn't expect him to fix anything, but he couldn't say anything that would get through the glass and comfort the small boy.

"Ah, you're awake," a booming voice shatters the silence. A door opens on Peter's side of the glass and the boy tries his best to keep his hands from shaking.

"Who are you? Where's Mr. Stark? What are you going to do to me? What do you want?" Peter demands, balling his hands into fists behind his back.

The man is tall, taller than either superhero, but not very intimidating. There's not a whole lot of muscle underneath his muscle shirt, and his skinny jean-clad legs just look pathetic. There's swirling black ink down his arms and he has floppy dark hair. The part that actually intimidates the poor boy strapped to his chair, is his dark vicious eyes and the sharp blade he flips between his hands.

The room is pretty barren. Just the chair, a big mirror on the opposite wall, a wall behind him, and a desk against the wall opposite the door.

"Spider-Man. Your precious Stark is fine. Unharmed. Unlike you'll be once we're done here. The rest you don't need to worry your pretty little head about. For now, I just want some answers, but not from you, boy," he snarls, shoving the knife under the boy's chin.

Peter's too scared of stuttering and showing just how scared he is to say a word to the man. He just throws the meanest glares he can muster and tries desperately to pull at his handcuffs.

The knife glints from the light pooling in from the hallway outside the room and Peter's trying his best to breathe through his panic. 'I could die. Right here. Right now. At only 15, I could die. I'm going to die. I'm never going to get to see May or Pepper or Mr. Stark or Ned or MJ ever again. I'm going to die.'

"Go for it. Do your worst," the small hero spits, deciding that if he's going to die, he's going to do it with dignity. He's not going to beg for his life.   
  
  


Tony's heart is jumping every couple notes like it's rewritten the rhythm to a different genre.

He wants to scream at the man to leave Peter alone, that whatever beef he has with Tony to leave Peter out of it. The kid didn't do anything to deserve to be in this position, but Tony could do nothing to save his intern.

He almost wants to hate Peter for being heroic. He's just a kid. He shouldn't be in a situation like this one, and yet here he is, being the stupid selfless person he is. But Tony could see straight through the act. He could see the panic and fear behind Peter's soft brown eyes, and that made self-loathing flood through his tied up body. He should've kept him safe. He should've done something to save the kid from being in this situation.

The man in the other room grins as though he's been granted the best gift he could get.

The blood is pouring before Tony even realizes the knife has moved from under his chin. Peter lets out a small cry of sudden pain, more out of surprise than anything, but it delivers satisfaction to the sadist.

Tony rips at his handcuffs desperately, unable to make any noise thanks to the rational part of his brain telling him it's useless. The cold metal digs into his wrists and tears prick his eyes.

The stranger makes a second, third, and fourth deep cut into Peter's right arm before taking a small step back to admire his bloody work.

"You're a disgrace, Peter. An absolute disgrace to heroes and to the world. I did everyone a favor by taking you away," he sneers, wiping his blade on the hem of his shirt.

The boy looks up with glassy eyes and lets out the softest whimper. "Please don't hurt Mr. Stark. He doesn't have healing like I do."

Tony's heart sinks. The boy cares too much about him. He never should've let Peter get so attached to him. He shouldn't have even taken the kid to Germany let alone given him a better suit and more opportunities to end up in a bad situation like this one. He should've pushed him away because everyone around him ends up getting hurt at one point.

"Please," Peter mumbles, "Just let us go. Leave us alone. Please. I don't know what we ever did to you, but we can make up for it. You don't have to do this."

"It isn't we, kid, it was all me. I'm so sorry," Tony says, knowing the kid would never hear him. It's all his fault. How could he get Peter wrapped up in this mess?

*

The man had left Peter alone after a few more wounds to his now aching arm, but Peter almost wished he'd come back. The isolation, the darkness, the unknown around him scared him more than the man did. The man could hurt him all he wanted to, but it scared him more to be all alone in the cramped room with only his thoughts.

He knew he'd start panicking if he let his mind wander to the worst case scenarios and possibilities of what could happen in this place.

Aunt May won't even be worried, he's disappeared like this for days at a time during the summer, busy with Mr. Stark and the internship. Happy and Pepper won't be worried either. Mr. Stark has tendencies to just sort of disappear if he wants to, and he spends unhealthy amounts of time in his lab anyways, they wouldn't really think of his absence.

He's going to be stuck here for a long time, probably until he inevitably dies unless Mr. Stark can save him. Unless Iron Man can save him.

His lungs were starting to struggle with his quickened breaths, heart thumping irrationally in his chest. The man shouldn't be back for at least a couple of hours. He was safe for the time being, but the darkness stretching out before him felt like anything could be hidden in the corners. He felt like he was being watched.

The walls started closing in on him, causing his breathing to speed up even more. It was like when he was trapped under that building... All by himself. Scared and alone and in the darkness without his suit or anything to save him, but himself. But this time he didn't even have himself. He was trapped in this chair and there was nothing he could do except suffer.   
  
  


Tony wanted to smash the glass. That's the first thing he would do when he figured out how to get these bonds off of him. He'd smash the glass and wrap the poor kid in a hug.

He listened as Peter started hyperventilating to himself. Is he hurt? Is he asleep? Is he scared?

Suddenly, Peter's voice rings out quietly against the still silence.

"M-Mister. Stark? I know you probably can't hear me, and I know I'll sound pathetic to whoever is watching me... But, uh, I'm scared, Mr. Stark," he says, voice shaking and barely above a whisper. "You always come when FRIDAY or Karen tells you my breathing's too fast or that my heart rate is too high. I don't even know if you were taken too. But, uh, I'm really scared, Mister. Stark."

The kid chokes back a quiet sob, letting his head drop so his chin is resting against his chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to try to be brave, Mister. Stark, but I don't know if I can. I'm really scared... and I, um, I don't want to die," he whimpers, holding back tears.

"I know, kid. I know. I'm not going to let that happen. I swear to you, I will not let you die. I will find a way to save you. I swear. I'll get you out of here alive if it's the last thing I do. I promise, kid. You're doing really good. I'm so proud of you. I won't let anything bad happen to you again," Tony says, wishing with everything in him that he wasn't giving empty promises to the kid that couldn't even hear him.

The boy is silent for a few moments before he lets out a shaky breath. "You can do this. You're spiderman. C'mon, Spider-Man. You can do this. You're okay. Come on, Peter. Come on, Spider-Man. You can do this," he breathes, squeezing his eyes shut.

'He shouldn't have to go through that. How could you let someone put a kid through this? How could someone put a kid through all of this? What's even going to happen to him? I'm so stupid. I hate myself for not stopping this. For just watching him go through this by himself. It's only been a couple hours and everything already feels hopeless.'

*

Peter is exhausted and drained when the door finally opens again revealing the same man from before.

There are deep circles under his eyes already from the sleepless night, body struggling to heal the wounds on his arm without an energy boost, but after talking himself up last night, he couldn't sleep. He could only stare into the darkness and pray that someone would save him. He felt like a coward for saying all those words aloud and panicking as he did at the darkness, but the stranger doesn't seem to have heard his small break down.

"I have some fun planned for you today, spidey. I hope you don't mind losing your voice today. Thought after yesterday, I should show you what real pain feels like," the man says, eyes glinting mischievously.

"What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?" Peter asks, feeling smaller than he ever had before.

"Because Tony Stark ruined my life and now I'll ruin his."

A sense of sadness washes over the boy as he lets loose some thoughts that have been looming over him for weeks now. "Mr. Stark doesn't actually care. I'm just his intern. I just work with him. You can hurt me all you want, but it's not going to hurt him like you think it will. I don't mean that much to him."

The man turned to the mirror, confusing the boy who stared at him through it.

"Time to have some fun, I think."  
  
  


It hurt Tony to think that Peter didn't believe he cared about him. That kid meant more to Tony than even he knew. Being in such a scary situation with the kid sort of brought that to life inside him, the desire to save the kid and protect him. Even if he hadn't really given it much thought before, Peter was one of the only people in his life that he truly cared about alongside Pepper and Rhodey.

The man was walking around Peter like he was trying to find the best way to hurt him though he said that he already had plans, he was just stalling. He smirked at Tony through the mirror though he couldn't actually see Tony on the other side.

The man suddenly whipped out a long needle from the inside of his jacket with a grin. With no desire to make Tony or Peter wait any longer, he pushed the needle into Peter's arm with a grin and pumped the liquid into the boy's veins.

There are a few seconds of tense silence where Tony's leaning as close to the glass as he can get in desperation to save the kid, but unable to. Stuck where he can't be seen or heard.

The man walks out of the room, turning a light on as he goes so Peter can see everything around him.

The small hero looks up with glassy eyes and Tony's scared he's in pain, but his voice comes out a soft squeak against the stale silence.

"May?" he questions, looking almost right at Tony, but totally oblivious to the other side of the mirror.

Peter watches as his Aunt takes a step towards him with crying eyes.

"It's your fault, Peter. I died because you couldn't save me. Ben died because you couldn't save him. Your parents died because you couldn't save them. And now the famous Tony Stark is going to die because you can't save him. You're selfish and were always a nightmare to deal with at home. Your friends only pretended to care about you because they were scared of Flash and scared of you. Tony only pretends to care so he can use your powers for his own good. I only pretended because if I didn't care, you'd be sent away and other people would have to deal with you. Nobody cares about you, Peter," Aunt May says, glaring at him. He didn't even realize tears were falling down his face until he heard one hit the ground.

May shapes into Ben. A little fuzzy from his fading memories, but still his uncle.

"You couldn't save me! How could you just let me die?! How could you?!" he screams, making Peter flinch and let out a quiet whimper.

'It's not real. It's not real. It's not real.'

But it feels real to him.

Ben morphs into Mr. Stark, and Peter tugs at his restraints. Maybe he's here to save him?

"Mr. Stark, I'm sorry. Please. I'm so sorry. I should've saved them. I should've. I'm not a hero," he says, wanting nothing more than for his mentor to encase him in a hug.

"Damn right you're not a hero! You couldn't even save Iron Man. You don't care about anyone but yourself! I'm glad you got taken. I'm glad I won't have to deal with your presence anymore as my intern! You should beg him to kill you! You shouldn't even be a superhero. You were always just a fluke. A mistake. And I couldn't have you terrorizing the rest of the world so I had to take you in. I never cared about you. I never even liked you. I hated you! You're not a hero!" he screams back at him.

Peter whimpers again, wanting the screaming to stop, wanting to die. Maybe they're all right. Maybe he shouldn't be here. Maybe he is just an awful person. He's done more bad than good in the world, hasn't he? And how could the Tony Stark be lying to him? Why would he do that?

A sudden fiery pain fills his veins, he cries out in pain, starting to shake with his twisted sobs. The slow tears start rushing down his face like a faucet turned to max, and he screams in agony at the fire alighting his arms and legs.   
  
  


Tony rips desperately at his chains hearing the boy screaming and sobbing in the room. So close, but so so far away.

Peter's back arches as he tries to get rid of the pain that's now drowning him from whatever the hell was in that serum.

"Stop it! Why are you doing this?! Peter's just a kid! He's only 15! Leave him alone! Do whatever you want to me, but leave him alone!" Tony yells, wanting to hurt whoever would do this to the poor kid. And for once, getting Peter's age right.

The door on his side of the room opens and reveals the other man, who's grinning sadistically, as though Peter's pain makes him happy.

"It's going to last for a little while longer. And even then... It's going to be a long time before he recovers from this one, Stark. I can't believe you would just sit and watch a kid get hurt like this and do nothing to stop him. You must really hate yourself right now," the man drawls, kicking the back of Tony's chair.

Peter's screams make it hard to concentrate on whatever the man is saying, but he knows he needs to do something to make sure this doesn't happen again.

"Please," he mumbles, heart skipping every couple beats. "Please. I'll do anything if you leave the kid alone. I'll do absolutely anything if you just stop this, if you let Peter go. He's just a kid. Please."

Peter's screams get louder, and his sobs are choking him, but not a word is said. He just screams endlessly with more breath than Tony thought he'd be able to conjure.

"Is The Tony Stark begging? I guess the kid really was wrong. You do care, don't you?" he says, white teeth glimmering as he watches Peter arch his back again, squeezing his hands into desperate fists.

"I do care. I do. You need to stop this. Please. He's hurting himself," Tony begs, a sick feeling in his stomach making him want to throw up all over the ruthless man. Peter strains to get away from the pain that's inside of him, all his muscles taut and the wounds in his arms ripping open again.

"You want to make a deal?"

"Yes. I'll do anything. Please. Just stop this," Tony pleads, tearing his eyes away from the blood starting to drip to the floor around Peter's chair to look up at the man.

He doesn't say anything in return, just seems to ponder the thoughts and then stalking out of the room. Tony has no idea what he's agreed to, but as long as Peter gets out of this alive, what does it really matter. Tony would die for the kid.

Peter's screams finally die out into a panting whimper, soft sobs escaping him as he cries. Tony would do anything to just give that kid a hug. Tony would kill every last person on earth if it meant he could give him a hug. He would give up everything he's ever worked for to comfort the kid.

"Mister. Stark?" Peter whispers, shaking from head to toe as he cries. "I'm-I'm sorry. I can't.. I can't keep doing this.... I'm scared. I'm sorry. I-I don't know what to do. I'm sorry. Please, Mr. Stark. Please. I can't do this. I'm sorry."

"Please just sleep, kid," Tony mumbles, wishing the boy could hear him. Wanting him to be okay.

Peter's breathing gets even faster as he cries, sobs getting caught in his throat. And before he knows it, he's passed out.

*

Tony didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up again, getting confused by the endless darkness surrounding him. He can't see Peter anymore. Hopefully the kid's okay...

"Hello?" Peter's soft voice rings out. He sounds closer than Tony had heard him in a long while.

"Peter?" he questions, desperately hoping his suspicions were right.

His whole body sags when Peter lights up. "Mister. Stark! Oh thank god you're alright. I was worried they had done something to you. Do you know how long it's been? Do you know what's going on? Are we going to make it out of here?"

The sad roughness of Peter's voice from all the screaming yesterday, made Tony's heart sink, but at least they could talk. At least he could talk to his poor kid.

"Pete... I don't know. I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea. I think it's been 2 days. I saw what they were doing to you, kid. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. The mirror was one-way glass... I'm sorry I couldn't help you, kid," he confessed, wishing he could see Peter's face.

"It's okay, Mr. Stark, really. I'm okay. Just... What are we going to do? Will somebody notice you're missing? Are we going to get out of here alive?" the small boy says. There's a deep pain still gnawing at his insides, but not strong enough to really bother him.  His wrists are bloody, he can feel the slick blood on his fingers from where the handcuffs dug into him, and there's blood on the floor under his bare feet from where his arms had bled.

"I'm going to get you out of here, kid. I swear. We just have to hope Pepper gets worried enough to try to find us. It's going to be okay, Pete," Tony says, wishing his words weren't empty promises filled with pointless wishes.

"Okay. I'm just happy you're here," Peter murmurs, leaving empty silence again to match the darkness.

"Is there something you want to say, kid?" Tony questions after a few moments of silence.

The younger hero felt nervous to ask about yesterday but knew he couldn't just hold it inside while stuck in the same room as the other.

"Um, I know it was a hallucination yesterday, but, uh, you were there... and you said some things. I just- I don't know. Do you hate me? Do you just think of me as an annoying intern? Am I really a hero? I don't think I've done very much good, and I have done a lot worse... I just- Have you just been pretending so you could have me for my powers?" His voice is so small and if there had been any background noise, Tony wouldn't have heard the words.

He almost wishes he hadn't heard the words that sent cracks through his stupid walls.

"I do care, kid. You're more of a hero than I ever was. I'm really proud of you, kid, and this is just making me more proud of you," Tony sighs, hating himself for looking so weak, but also knowing that the kid needs him to be weak right now. "I wish you didn't have to be in a situation like this one, but I'm proud of you for handling it so well."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter says, feeling a small smile creep onto his face. He knows he'll have to talk to May once he gets out of here, but it makes him feel better knowing that The Iron Man is proud of him.

"I've told you, kid. It's Tony. Not Mr. Stark. That makes me sound so old," he says.

The kid's laugh gets cut off very quickly when the door slams open again.

The first thing Tony notices is just how much blood there is on the floor. Peter had ripped open the wounds on his arms and tugged so hard on his cuffs that there's still blood dripping to the floor, staining the white cement red.

"Aw, how precious. Iron Man and Spider-Man reunited once again, but not safe. Don't mistake this for being safe. You are so so far from being safe," the man sneered, watching as the two flinched away.

Everything in Peter was trying to give into the flight reaction. He wanted to hide behind Tony no matter how childish it might seem. He wanted to run as far away from this place as he possibly could and never ever look back. He wanted to cry and be back at the Stark Tower so Pepper could give him a nice warm hug and Tony could offer him a snack before he had to go out for patrol. He wished more than anything that he had stayed home to do homework than having decided to go see Tony and work on his suit.

Tony wanted to do the opposite. He wanted to fight. He wanted to rip the man limb by limb until he was just a bloody pile on the floor. He wanted to inject that man with twice as much serum as Peter had gotten until he simply died of pain. He wanted to cause that man the same amount of pain that he had caused Peter.

But they were both stuck in their seats, no escape, nobody coming for them, nothing to do but endure whatever the man had planned for them.


	2. Pocket Full of Posies

"We're going to play a little game here. Have a little bit of fun. I suppose you're getting pretty hungry, 'specially you, spider boy. We're going to play a game for some food, okay?" The man says, grinning sadistically at the two of us.

As if on cue, Peter's stomach growls. He's used to eating 3 or 4 meals a day plus snacks whenever he wants to. It's been 3 days since he's had anything to eat, no wonder he's not healing too well.

"What are we supposed to do?" Tony asks, knowing there's no way around this and if they might get food if they win... they might as well cooperate.

The man's eyes light up with delight and circles around Peter's chair very slowly.

Both the heroes hearts are now racing, desperate to win whatever trial he's going to put them through. Tony wants to win and give the food to the kid, and Peter's so hungry that he's barely thinking straight. Earlier, he was too busy fearing for his life to think about food, but the moment it was mentioned, it felt like a monster was let loose on his insides, desperate to escape him. It was ripping at the inside of his stomach, making him want to keel over in pain.

"Michael! Come on in here! Bring the fun stuff!" The man calls out, giving us a sideways glance.

Another man saunters into the room. He's younger than the first man but taller and more muscular. He's probably one of the guards they'd have to fight if they could try to escape. He has pushed back dirty-blond hair, dark blue eyes, and a sneer. He rolls his eyes the moment he looks at the prisoners, giving Tony a little wink before turning to the first guy.

"Having fun, Kínzó? You better hurry this along because this isn't going to end well if we're found," Michael says, leaning towards his leader.

The man, apparently Kínzó, nods as though he expected him to say that. "Yes. I'm following the plan to the exact like I swore I would. I'm having more fun than I've had in 19 years, Michael. Do you have what I asked for?"

The blond nods and passes over a small cardboard box with a roll of his eyes.

"This might be the dumbest idea you've ever had, but I'm not going to try to fight with you on this anymore. Have fun," he says sarcastically before stalking out of the room again.

Tony is honestly terrified. He wishes he could protect the poor boy from the horrors of all this. Peter's staring at him as though expecting him to just turn into iron man and get them out of this place, but he can't. He's trapped just like Peter is, and there's nothing either of them can do to escape. Tony's just hoping Pepper and Happy have noticed their absence and are trying to find them.

Kínzó opens the cardboard box and pulls out 2 simple pistols, confusing the captives.

"You gonna shoot us? Finally just kill us?" Tony says with false confidence.

"Nope. I'm not done with you two yet. I offered you food if you do the one thing I ask you to do. I will give each of you a gun with one bullet inside. You must shoot the other person. If you miss, punishment for both of you. If you hit me, I'll kill the other. If you shoot yourself, punishment for the other. If you simply refuse, punishment. Understand the game?" Kínzó explains, spinning the weapons on his fingers with an easy-going smile.

"You want me to shoot him?" Tony repeats incredulously. Peter stays uncharacteristically quiet, not even looking at anything, but the floor. "Are you kidding?! He's 15! He's just a kid!"

"Yeah well, who's fault is it for bringing a kid into this mess in the first place? It's up to you both if you want to participate or not, but I've got a plane to catch in a couple of hours, and I'll be gone for a few days. So if you decide to deny, you might die of starvation." He cackles as Peter's stomach growls again.

"Fine. Give us the guns. What are the rules for where we can hit?" Tony growls.

"Anywhere. Just don't kill the other person and if there's no blood, another hit."

Kínzó pulls one arm out of each of their handcuffs, knowing there's nothing they can do to stop the situation from happening.

"Have some good fun," Kínzó says before stalking out, but a knock on the mirror tells that he's still watching very carefully from the safety of the other room.

"Kid. Kid, you have to listen to me. You're going to hit me first, okay? Right in the left arm," Tony says gently, keeping his pistol clenched very carefully in his hand pointed towards the floor.

Peter looks up with big watery brown doe eyes, more scared than he'd been the whole time he'd been here. He couldn't just shoot Tony.

"Kid... Pete, we don't have a choice. I'm not going to be mad, I swear, but you need some food in you if you're going to heal from all of this. It's going to be okay, Petey. You just have to hit me in the upper left arm. You can do it," Tony encourages desperately. He's not sure how much time they have. And the less he thinks about it, the easier it'll be for him to pull the trigger.

A big, fat drop falls from Peter's eye as he lifts his pistol towards Tony. His hands are trembling too bad and he can't focus on where it's pointed. He's scared he's going to drop the gun from how bad he's shaking.

"I-I can't... I can't do it, Mis-Mister Stark. I c-can't," Peter whimpers, starting to cry again.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, kiddo. It's okay. Please don't cry. It's going to be just fine. You have to calm down," Tony says, trying not to let his desperation show. If Peter refuses, he'll be punished for it, and Tony doesn't know how much more pain the kid can take.

Peter takes a deep breath in as his tears continue dripping and clenches his hand to try to get it steady some more.

"You can do it, Pete. That's it. Just calm down. It's okay. You have to do it," Tony continues, arms tensing in anticipation for the pain.

Peter steadies his hands as best as he can and aims very carefully, knowing that if he misses there will be really bad consequences.

Tony knows he can't make any noise of pain as the bullet hits his arm, so he squeezes his eyes shut and his hands into fists, biting the inside of his lip until he's only tasting the metal of blood.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Peter sobs suddenly, and Tony knows he has to pull himself together for the sake of the kid.

"It's okay, Pete. I'm okay. Look at me," he says, forcing his eyes open to look into the soft crying brown of the boy's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mister Stark," he cries, looking guilty and ashamed.

"I told you, kid. It's Tony. You're making me sound old again."

A small smile touches Peter's lips, but the tears don't cease. Tony's arm is throbbing in pain, and it kills him that he has to put the already pained and crying boy through the same thing.

"Okay, kid. You gotta listen to me. I'm going to need to hit your leg, okay? Your shoulder is already torn up as is, and I don't want to cause any more pain than necessary. It's going to hurt, not gonna lie, but you have to be strong again," Tony instructs, the heavy guilt already weighing on his heart.

Peter tenses his shoulders up and lets the empty pistol fall to the floor, nodding at his mentor's words. He's scared, he's not going to pretend that he's not, he doesn't know if he can be strong any longer, but he doesn't want to make Tony feel any worse than he already is. So he squeezes his eyes shut, ceasing his tears, and braces for the inevitable.

The gunshot seems to echo in Peter's already sensory-heightened ears, and he desperately wants to cry out in agony as he feels the slick blood adding to the already drying blood on the floor. He squeezes his shoulders closer to his body, and it takes him a few moments before the ringing in his ears stops, and he can hear Tony calling his name.

"Peter. Pete, c'mon. It's okay. We did it. We're going to get food and then we'll be left alone for a couple of days. I promise I will get you out of this hell as soon as I can. It's okay, kiddo. I'm sorry," Tony rambles.

"I guess we're even now," Peter chokes out, wishing he could sound as calm and confident as Tony, but incapable to push away the throbbing in his leg.

"Yeah, we are, kiddo. We're going to eat and then you're going to get some sleep, kid. And by the time you wake up, you'll be feeling better. Just one thing at a time," he says carefully.

Peter's head is starting to droop, desperate to pass out after everything that's happened. He can feel all the blood being drained out of him, and he's starting to panic.

"Am I going to die? I don't- I don't wanna die, Mister Stark. I'm... I..." he can't find the energy to breathe out any more words, using his free hand to grab at his chest for air.

The worry that explodes through Tony makes his heart start racing. "You're not going to die, Peter. Listen to me. You're going to be okay. You're Spiderman, remember? You're not going to die. I swear. You're going to be okay, Pete. You gotta breathe though, kid. You have to calm down."

"I'm- I'm sorry, Tony. I'm sorry. I can't... I can't do it. I wanna go home. Please," he cries.

The older man doesn't even realize that Peter finally used his name instead of Mr. Stark for the first time ever as he struggles to think up some way to help the kid.

"Peter. I need you to look at me. Please. Just look at me. Focus."

The shaking boy raises his eyes to Tony's, desperate for some sort of contact between the two of them. His brown eyes are panicked and dart between Tony's eyes and the wound on his arm, starting to lose color in his cheeks.

"Peter. I need you to look at me. Look right at me. Don't look down. Look at me. You're okay. You're not going to die. I swear my life, I'm not going to let you die in this place. You just need to breathe. You need to breathe nice and slow, Pete. You can do it," Tony instructs carefully.

Peter manages a few shaky deep breaths before it wavers and he bursts into tears again.

"i'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't be brave. I'm sorry I can't be strong. I'm sorry," he sobs, hiding his face in his elbow. He's starting to feel dehydrated from the tears and the sweat, and he's desperate for the man to come back with food and hopefully water too.

"You're doing great, kid. I'm so proud of you. You're the strongest, bravest, smartest, and kindest person I know. You're doing so so well, Pete. I just need you to breathe, okay?"

Somehow the words seem to break through the kid's panic and he manages one shaky breath after another until his tears have ceased and his breathing has fallen even.

"I need you to do one more thing, Pete. Just keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them. I don't want you to freak out because of the blood, okay? I promise you're okay and I'm okay, but I need you to close your eyes without falling asleep on me. Can you do that?"

Peter nods, just once, before hiding his face in his elbow, desperately wishing there was something more he could do to get them out of this hell.   
  
  


Kínzó finally walks in a few minutes later with 2 plates of food. Peter doesn't move, though his every sense in his body is starting to freak out, he doesn't want to look until Mr. Stark tells him to.

"Pete... Eat some food. You can look now, just don't look at the ground," Tony says, almost wanting to smile at the purity of the kid, even now wanting to obey everything to the exact.

Peter's eyes instantly light up at the smell of the food, stomach rumbling almost painfully. He can already tell he's lost some weight, hopefully not enough for Aunt May to notice and be pissed about.

"As I said before, I have a flight to catch. I'll be back in a few days, but attempts at escape are futile. Michael and the others will be checking in on you every few hours and will be patrolling the halls at all times," the man informs shortly, handing over the plates of food before stalking out again, luckily leaving the lights on.

"Um, Tony?" Peter asks before he touches his food, unsurprisingly waiting to be given a hard yes about whether or not he can eat it.

"What's up, kid?"

"Um, will we ever get out of here?" he asks, wanting to look anywhere but Tony, but not wanting to look at any of the red that's decorating the room.

"We will. I promise. Pepper's probably gotten pretty worried already and your aunt too. Eat some food. We'll be found soon, and until then, I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."  
  


Turns out there wasn't much in his power he could do. No matter how much he shouted at the quiet burly man who had entered the room, he wouldn't stop until Peter passed out, face now matching the rest of his body, bruised and bloody.

Leaving Tony alone in the room, nowhere to look except blood.

When Peter wakes up, the room is a spinning disaster. His head is throbbing along with the rest of his body and the smell of the blood makes him nauseated. Tony's sleeping in the chair across from him, and their hands are tied up again.

He doesn't want to wake the other man, but he's scared that if he throws up, he'll die of hunger before he's fed again. That thought makes him even sicker, stomach churning at the thought of dying in this awful place. He shudders, wanting to cry all over again, but knowing how dumb that idea would be.

The door slams open and 3 men are there. Michael, the guy who beat me up last night, and another big guy.

Tony's up in an instant, immediately searching for Peter's eyes to make sure he's alright.

"Boss told us to clean up the room so we're relocating you for the time being," Michael says, running his fingers through his hair.

Tony gives Peter one last look of reassuring before they're both gagged and blinded.

Peter cries out in agony as he's pulled to his feet, meaty fingers digging into his arm wounds and the pressure on his shot leg sending shooting pain up his legs. The guards don't seem to care as they start dragging him down the hallway, fear bubbling beneath the surface. With all his senses stripping away, he only has smell left to count on and that's not even helping. He hasn't showered in probably a week now and he's been sweating and bleeding a lot through this pair of clothing.

He's forced into another chair, hands pulled above his head and locked onto something above him, leaving his hands limp in their chains. He desperately wants to cry out for Tony, for anyone to save him, but Tony's in the same helpless boat as he is. There's nothing either of them can do but endure this pain until it's done with.

The blood is now trickling down his spine which makes him even more uncomfortable than when it was pooling in his palms. The room is oddly humid and when they strip off the blindfold, he's left in total confusion. The ceiling is low, too low for it to be any sort of regular room, hardwood flooring, walls painted a pretty sickly green.

As soon as the gag is off he's speaking. "Mr. Stark?"

"Here," the man groans. He's been tied up too, sitting on the floor and handcuffs behind his back, looking pale but otherwise alright.

"What's going on, Mr. Stark? What are we going to do? Can we escape while Kínzó is gone or is that impossible?" the kid questions, looking to his mentor for the answer to all his problems.

"I'm working on it best I can, kid. I promised I'd get you out and I will. Even if we could just send out a signal to Pepper for her to come to find us... But I don't know how."

More than anything, Tony wanted to pull that boy in for a hug. The hope had been draining from his eyes all day and Tony's loss for words on what they were supposed to do just made it worse.

Tony just wanted to comfort his kid and make him feel better and get him the hell out of this godforsaken place. But here he was, sitting on the floor, as useless as ever.

They sit in silence for what feels like an eternity, Peter slipping in and out of painful consciousness.

Finally, Michael returns and grabs Peter's elbow.

"What are you doing? Please don't hurt him again. Just leave him alone," Tony begs, feeling his shoulders droop in exhaustion.

"Don't worry about him. I'll be taking him back in just a few. And then it'll be your turn. If you know what's better for you, you better cooperate," Michael says, giving Peter a glare.

Peter nods numbly, dragging himself to his already throbbing legs, the pressure not helping.

He accidentally looks to the floor and there's already blood staining the hardwood. Tony is staring at him in confusion and worry, but the younger ignores him, knowing there's nothing he can do or say to make the situation any better.

"Do whatever they ask you to do. I don't care if they ask you to give up every SHIELD or Stark secret, you do it if it keeps you safe," Tony instructs, wishing he could get up and do anything to help the kid, but stuck in his place, handcuffed to the floor.

"Yeah. I'll be okay, Mr. Stark. Worry about yourself for once." He stumbles after Michael, dazed and wishing he couldn't feel anything at all.

Allowing himself to tear down all the walls he's been forced to put up during this whole mess, is almost too easy. Peter hates being scared. It hurts him that he's supposed to be some kind of brave hero, but here he is, doing whatever the man wants because he's too scared of getting hurt. He's a coward. He'll have to make up for all of this.

Michael pushes him into another room and the breath leaves Peter's lungs. He wants to collapse to the floor. Not in fear. Not in panic. Not in sadness. For the first time in a very long time, Peter wants to collapse in relief.

He wishes he had looked around the room and taken in all of his surroundings, but he couldn't take his eyes off the one thing he'd wanted desperately since he woke up this morning.

A shower.   
  
  


The hot water runs down his back, water turning red at his dirty feet. He can't believe he's being given a shower. There's no shampoo or soap or anything, but at least he can wash the dried blood off him and some of the dirt out of his hair.

It feels refreshing and so mundane after all the awful things he's been put through.

There's a loud knock on the door and Michael yells at him to hurry up. He shuts off the shower and limps over to the clean clothes on the counter and the role of gauze.

He cleans up his wounds, best he can and wraps them in the bandages before throwing on his new clothes.

He knocks on the door and gives a soft call that he's done.

His hands are immediately re-handcuffed and he's pulled back down the hall to the room from before, feeling a bit better than he has in a little while.

Tony's been waiting for what feels like forever when the door reopens. The kid is pushed back into his seat, hands cuffed above his head and ankles to his chair.

His curly hair is damp and ruffled, skin almost glowing with the after shower clean. He's wearing a simple pair of black sweatpants and a white t-shirt, wounds bandaged with nice white bandages.

"Your turn, Iron Man," Michael says, sounding pretty done with babysitting the two of them.

"It's just a shower, Mr. Stark. It's so nice! Don't worry. You're not going to get hurt!" Peter says, bubbling with happiness.

That makes Tony a little upset as he's dragged to his feet next. He doesn't want Peter to be in a false sense of security after the shower, but he's overjoyed that his kid is doing okay. And for now, that's all that really matters to him.   
  
  


When Tony reenters the room from before, immediately cuffed to the floor by his ankles and wrists, Peter is sleeping soundly.

His lip is split and his eye is almost swollen shut, but other than that, visibly, he doesn't look too bad, and the wounds should start healing very soon. Unless, of course, they're replaced with worse ones.

Peter's always looked like a little kid when he's asleep, at peace and almost happy in whatever dream world he's created. Hair curling over his eyes, getting a little bit longer than he normally keeps it. He probably would've cut it this week if he hadn't been taken.

"Pepper... Steve... Rhodey... Nat... Whoever out there... Just please get him out of this place," Tony whispers to the silence, not wanting to disturb the kid. "Get him out of here. I don't care about me, I just need him safe. I need him to be safe and happy and a kid again. He doesn't deserve this. I don't know how much more pain he can take, and I don't know how much more pain I can watch him go through. Please. I don't pray, I've never needed to, but right now... Right now, I need a miracle."

"Mister Stark?" Peter groans quietly, still half-asleep and drowsy. "Tony... Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me, bud? What did I ever do for you? I'm the reason you're in this hell in the first place," Tony grumbles bitterly, leaning his head on the wall behind him.

This seems to almost shock Peter from his sleep and his big brown eyes stare at Tony in confusion.

"It's not your fault! You would've done something if you could've, but that's not your fault. It's not as though you were the one that said that we should go out for dinner. But... If you weren't here with me, I don't think I'd be alive. You've been... you're the closest thing I've got to a fatherly figure in my life. And you're like everything I aspire to be, you know? I don't know if it sounds dumb or anything, but I just wanted to thank you for that. You've been good to me, probably better to me than I deserve," the boy explains, blushing darkly, and shifting his good foot on the floor.

This makes a smile grow on the mentor's face. "You think of me as a fatherly figure? And trust me, kid, I haven't given you even close to what you deserve. You deserve the world and more."

Peter opens his mouth to speak when the door is thrown open.

Peter feels himself shrink away from the man. Kínzó is back early then. And he's pretty pissed.

"My flight got turned around because I was informed that Mr. Steve Rogers had been talking about the both of you going missing and I didn't have time to waste here," he growls. He turns to Peter who's heart is racing as a bead of sweat drips down his forehead. "You! You're coming with me. Let's go."

He grabs Peter's arm and rips him to his feet.

"No, please, no. Please just leave me alone," the kid begs, not fighting against the man, but eyes starting to water.

"Pete. Hey, kid. Listen, Captain America is going to find us. He's going to. And everything is going to be just fine, Okay?" Tony says, hoping to put some hope into the kid before he's taken away.

He nods quickly, locking eyes with the hero before he's dragged out of the room. 

A few moments later, Peter's screams echo through Tony's ears.

"Peter! Stop hurting him! Stop it!" Tony yells, desperately and uselessly pulling at his restraints.

The kid lets out a blood-curdling scream, desperation and agony filling the air. Tony let's out a pathetic sob, wishing he could help his kid.

Peter strains against the metal strapping him to the chair. The shocks being sent through his body, on one of the higher settings, makes his body shake and he screams again. It pauses for a second and Peter collapses back onto the chair, breathing heavily.

"What do you want from me? I'll tell you anything. Please," he gasps, trying his best not to sob.

"I don't want anything from you. I just needed you to know that you're no hero. You're a coward and you're absolutely pathetic. And I need all of Stark's passwords for his important things," Kínzó growls, hand on the switch.

"No, no, no, no. I don't know. I would tell you, but I don't know. Mr. Stark doesn't tell me any of his passwords. Nobody knows them," Peter cries. He knows that the passwords to most of Tony's stuff is 'Underoos0107' but he doesn't want to give it up. He doesn't want this man to have any more power than he already does.

The wave of pain that shoots through him, causes him to arch his back and scream, thrashing as much as he can away from the chair.

His voice cuts off the minute the pain subsides and starts sobbing miserably, wishing he could hide his face away from Kínzó with his stupid smile and stupid satisfaction from making the kid cry.

"Please... I'm sorry. I don't know. Please. I can't- I can't do this. Please," Peter begs, pushing away the desire to give up the secrets.

"Give me the passwords, and I'll let you go back to him, but otherwise you're staying right here," he hisses, grabbing for the switch again. 

Peter's screams fill the air once again and Tony continues ripping at his handcuffs.

"What the hell are you doing to him?! Leave him alone! Peter!" he yells, feeling his wrists start to bleed from the metal. "Stop it! Don't touch him! Leave him alone!"

But there's nothing he can do to help his kid. Stuck listening to him screaming through probably multiple walls.

"Fine. Fine. Please. I'll tell you. Just stop this. Stop. Please. I'll tell you anything," Peter cries, feeling so weak and pathetic. He's not a hero. A hero would've survived this, but he can't. He can't last through this pain any longer.

"Starks. Passwords."

"TonyStark01. That's it. That's all I know. Please. Just let me go. I can't- I can't do this. Please... P-Please. Just let me go," the hero sobs.

"TonyStark01. How hasn't he been hacked before? How do I know you're not lying?" The villain demands.

"Please... Please, I don't know anything. I'm sorry. That's what he told me. That's all I know," he begs, just wanting everything to end.

"I'll be checking tonight to see if you were telling the truth. If not, I'll have to bring you back and dial it up a notch or two. If it is true, I'll leave you alone entirely," he replies, grinning sadistically at the trembling kid.

"Please just let me go. Just leave me alone. I can't do this. Please. I'm sorry," Peter whimpers, all of the emotion flooding out of his body through his awful tears.

"Yeah I'll let you go back to your room and it's up to you whether or not you come back here, understand?"

Peter nods quickly, knowing he was lying but just having to cross his fingers that someone trying to hack the system is enough for whoever back at home to track and find them.

Peter's almost carried back into their room and Tony wants to cry at how small and heartbreaking the poor boy is.

There are tears flooding down his flushed face and little spots of blood where it looked like needles had entered his skin. His whole tiny frame is shaking and trembling with his sobs.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to tell them. I didn't- I didn't- I didn't want to. But I couldn't do it. I-I'm so sorry. I tried. I tried to be a hero. I'm sorry," Peter is sobbing as he's reattached to his chair.

"It's okay. Whatever you told them, it's okay. You're going to be okay, kid. I swear. Nobody's going to be mad," Tony reassures, not knowing what's happening or how to help.

The door slams shut loudly and Peter looks up revealing his bloodshot eyes full of pain.

"I lied. I lied, Mister. Stark. I lied and he's going to hurt me again for lying. But I couldn't tell them. I couldn't do that," he cries, letting his head drop.

"What did they want?" Tony asks, feeling a heavy weight settle onto his shoulders.

"They wanted passwords. Passwords for all your stuff. I couldn't... I couldn't tell them everything. I lied... and they're going to hurt me again, Mister. Stark. Please. I can't go through that again."


	3. Ashes Ashes

Ned had spent the past 2 nights at the avengers compound.

He had stopped by at May's apartment asking where Peter had been because he wasn't answering any of his calls and blew off their plans. She had assumed he was with Tony, but hadn't heard from him a little while.

He took matters into his own hands and turned up outside The Stark Towers and was greeted by Pepper. Turns out she was starting to get worried about where Tony had disappeared to and was just about to head over to the Avengers Compound to see if they knew anything.

They went together and turns out they'd both gone missing. Nobody had heard from them in a couple days. Normally, Ned would've been freaking out about meeting all the avengers, but he was busy worrying about Peter. Who knew what had happened to that kid?

Finally they got a message from a blocked number.

"I have Peter Parker and Tony Stark held captive. You should see the amount of blood in this room." Cue evil laughter. "They'll be left here to die if they can't escape within the month. Which they won't. You better start saying your goodbyes to your precious Spider-Man and Ironman."

Nobody could track it and everybody was starting to panic with worry. Neither of them had their suits so they'd be stuck in that place until they inevitably died. And there was nothing they could do about it.

Until Pepper got an alert saying that someone was trying to hack the system and everyone went into a frenzy to find their friends.   
  
  
  


Peter finally passes out. He had cried for a good half hour, sobbing his heart out and Tony had been so desperate to give that boy a hug. That's all he's been wishing for since they got here.

Once Peter passes out, Tony just crosses his fingers, desperately hoping for some way to get his kid out of this awful situation. He doesn't think Peter can go through that torture again without totally breaking. Tony's honestly terrified that Peter will break like how Bucky broke when he got kidnapped.

He still can't believe that a 15-year-old kid got himself into a situation like this one somehow. He can't believe that he  _let_  a kid get into a situation like this one.

All he can do is pray to whoever up in the sky might hear him to get them out of here.

Peter wakes up only about an hour later and instantly looks like he's about to cry again.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down, Pete. Please don't cry. Please don't cry again," Tony begs, feeling his heartbreak at the exhausted and pained boy.

"It all hurts so bad, Mister. Stark. Everything hurts. I... I wanna  _die_ , Mister. Stark. I can't do this again. I'm sorry. I just... I just can't. I can't do this again," he begs, holding back his tears desperately.

"You're going to be okay. I'm sure they're tracking our location right now. It's going to be okay, Pete. Just tell him the truth. Tell him the truth and he won't have a reason to hurt you, okay? Please just calm down," Tony murmurs gently.

He doesn't respond, focusing on forcing breaths into his unwilling lungs.

"I don't know what to do, kid. I'm sorry. I don't know how to help or what I'm supposed to do. I wish I could do anything," he says, voicing the turmoil that's been going through his head since they got here.

"It's okay, Mister Stark. It's not your fault. I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself. Just..... Could you count for me?" Peter pants, still struggling to make himself breathe.

"Yeah, sure kid. Okay," he replies. He starts counting off how long Peter should breathe in, how long to hold, and then how long to breathe out, keeping his voice calm and soothing to help his kid.

Finally, Peter's breathing has fallen steady and he looks exhausted and miserable at this point.

"Can you... can you just talk? Just like tell me a story or something?" Peter requests, eyes big and innocent.

Tony sighs, Peter's just a kid. He doesn't deserve this. "Of course. Just relax, bud. I'm right here. Um, there was a time when I was about 16 or 17... I was in University at that point, MIT, thanks to my father. Um, life was easier than it had ever been for me because I no longer had this big pressure from my father to become this important person for SI. I was pretty smart and knew how to do more than most people did, so I didn't feel like I needed to put the effort into school. I would go to parties and get drunk and sleep with women left and right. You better not act like that, Pete. When I told you to be like me, I meant skipping over the bad parts. But anyways, yeah, it wasn't the best time of my life looking back on it, but back then it felt like the best time of my life.

"I think the biggest difference between you and me is that you were born normal and wanted to learn and to be a good person. I was born into SI. I was forced to be smart and did things I was told, believing that it was good when it wasn't. I had to learn the hard way how to be good. You're naturally a good person."

Peter looks up with sad eyes. "You are a good person, Mister Stark. You've been nothing but good to me."

"To you, yes, I've tried really hard to be good since you showed up. To Steve, to Rhodey, to Pepper. Not so much. I didn't know what was good and what was bad back then."

"Oh. I don't know... I guess I've always tried to be a good person because I didn't have my parents and then Uncle Ben... I don't know. Guess I just wanted everybody else to be happy and safe when I couldn't be," he explains, shrugging with a small half-smile.

"You're too young to be in a situation like this one."

Peter's head drops and his chin rests again his chest in exhaustion.

"I don't know what to do, Mister. Stark. I can't go through that again. I can't. I tried so hard to be strong, but I don't think I can do that again.... I'm really scared. I don't know what to do, what I'm supposed to do," Peter almost slurs, so tired and hurt.

"I know. I'm scared for you too. Just tell him the truth. Give him my real passwords. I won't be mad, this is what I want. Pepper might be able to track it better if he's actively logged in to the account. He won't have a reason to hurt you if you tell him the truth," Tony says, curling his hands into fists.

"But I already did lie, Mister Stark. He's going to punish me for lying. What if I die? Or what if I forget like Bucky did? I-" He cuts himself off, looking ashamed, maybe even guilty. "I'm sorry. I want to be strong. I want to be a hero so so bad, Mister Stark, but it's hard."

"You are a hero, Pete. You're so strong and I'm so proud of you for being so strong, but you don't have to be strong all of the time. You're allowed to be weak and you're allowed to break and you're allowed to give in because you're only 15, kid. You're young and you're obviously in so much pain already. Sometimes you gotta put yourself first, and I'm begging you to do that now."

He nods quickly, almost desperately, like he was waiting for permission to give up.

"Get some more sleep, kiddo. I'll be right here when you wake up," Tony says, smiling sadly as the boy instantly passes out again. 

The door slams open and Michael is standing there along with a woman and Kínzó.

Peter wakes up with scared wide eyes with unshed tears and his whole body is shaking before he even has the chance to realize what's happening.

"Leave him alone! Don't hurt him again! Please! Just leave him alone!" Tony is shouting, desperate to get his kid out of this situation.

"Shut up or I'll make it worse for him!" Kínzó yells, immediately silencing the older hero.

Michael grabs Peter and pulls him to his feet, locking his wrists behind his back, but for the first time since they got there, Peter starts struggling.

He fights against Michael's grip, normally super strength makes him so much stronger than any opponent, but he's so tired and hurt that he can't muster up as much as he normally can.

"Let me go! Stop! Stop it! Please! Let me go! Leave me alone!" he screams, fighting against Michael. "Let me go! Please! Just let me go!"

He gets his hands free from Michael, but they're still tied behind his back. He lurched forwards and spins around to kick Michael in the stomach sending him falling backwards.

Kínzó and the woman go grabbing for the kid, but he wrestles away from both of them.

He kicks and thrashes away from the older men, screaming to be left alone.

"Please! Let me go! Let me go! Don't touch me!" he sobs, managing a good kick to Kínzó's side, but Michael's already gotten back up.

"No! No! No! No! No!" Peter chants. "Please, No!"

Michael grabs Peter's handcuffs again and Kínzó punches him a couple times in the stomach.

Peter's knees buckle, only being held up by Michael.

"Please... Please, Mister. Stark. Don't let them take me. Don't let them hurt me again! Don't let them! Please, Mister. Stark. Don't let them do this!" The kid sobs, straining against Michael.

"I'm so sorry, kid. I can't. There's nothing I can do... I'm sorry," Tony whispers, wishing more than anything that there was something he could do.

"No!" Peter screams as he's dragged out of the room. "No! Please! Mister Stark! Don't let them do this, please!"

And then he's gone, leaving Tony alone with his awful guilt.

And then the blood-curdling, heart wrenching screams fill his ears again.   
  
  
  


When Peter gets back to the room, the little bit of heart Tony had left, shatters.

Last time, Peter was a sobbing wreck, pleading and begging for the pain to end. Now, he's silent and face emotionless.

"Pete? Kid?" Tony questions, voice barely above a whisper. Peter's hands are tied above his head once again and his eyes stay trained on the floor. The door shuts with a loud bang and Peter doesn't even flinch. "Kid? Come on. It's Tony, remember?"

There's so much fear pulsing through his body. What if he doesn't remember? What if it's like what happened to Bucky? Did they break his kids mind?

Finally, Peter looks up, eyes so beyond broken. So tired. So pained.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, voice hoarse and cracking.

"Do you remember everything? You haven't forgotten like Bucky did?" Tony repeats desperately.

Peter's face falls even further.

"I don't want to... Who's Bucky?" he asks, so lost and so far gone.

Tony wants to scream. How dare they hurt his kid like this? How dare he touch him? Take him away? Torture him until he couldn't remember?

"God, Kid. I'm so sorry," Tony murmurs, not knowing what to do or what to say.

"I don't... I don't remember. I can't. I can't remember anything before this. I can't remember... I'm sorry. I tried so hard. But everything's gone," Peter says, desperately grasping at the straws in his head but coming up empty.

"Hey, kid. We're going to be found and gotten out of here and once we're out, we're going to help you get them back. You've probably just gone through so much that a part of your brain has shut down. Once we're out of here we'll wake it up again, okay? We just have to get out. I'm so sorry you've had to go through this," Tony rambles.

"Can you... I don't... What do I do? I can't get them... They're all gone, Mister. Stark. I can't remember anything before getting here," Peter says, suddenly freaking out.

"I know, kid, but you can't worry about that now. For now, we have to focus on getting out of here. Just stay calm and focus on me, okay?"

"I just... Are my parents worried about me? Do people know we're missing? What do we do, Mister Stark?"

"Kid... Your parents are dead... you live with your Aunt May and me part time. And yes. Captain America, Steve, he's looking for us and Natasha, Black Widow, and probably the rest of the avengers too. We're going to get out of here soon, kid. I promise," he replies quickly.

"I'm sorry. I should remember, but I can't," Peter says, voice still mostly devoid of emotion.

"It's not your fault, kid. Just try to sleep off some of the pain. I promise it'll be okay."

"I'm sorry," the teen repeats, searching through his blocked off brain but coming up empty like his memories are sand slipping through his fingers. His head drops and he's starting to feel desperate for human contact. The first thing he'll do out of these cuffs, is hug Tony.

"Hey, kid?" Tony says, right before Peter drifts off. The teen looks up through half-lidded eyes looking exhausted.

"Yeah?" Peter slurs through his tiredness.

"I just wanted to say that as much as you don't deserve this, i am so proud of you. You're so brave and strong and levelheaded. I'm proud of you, kid," Tony says, giving a soft smile.

"Thanks... You should get some sleep too. You look like shit. You've been pretty great through all of this too."

"Okay. Well goodnight, kid," the older hero says.

Peter smiles, letting his head drop again as he drifts out of consciousness. "Goodnight, Dad."  
  


He wakes up feeling more lost and confused than he ever has, that he knows of. He's been in this place for almost 2 weeks now and that's all he can remember as though he spent his whole life here.

All he knows is pain and fear. He can't remember the last time he felt happy or satisfied or anything.

All he knows is this place with the four plain walls and the mirror, they'd been moved back into the first room now that it had been cleaned, with all the bad memories that came along with it.

All he knows is himself, the two evil men, and Tony.

Tony's the only person keeping him sane. If he wasn't here, Peter surely would've lost his mind and became the Winter Soldier 2.0 or maybe the Summer soldier, as Tony had been saying the other day.

Peter felt alone and scared and empty and sad. His parents were dead. The parents he didn't even remember. But he had Tony and for now, that's all that matters. 

Tony, on the other hand, is starting to feel the insane pressure of trying to keep the boy across from him sane.

There's absolutely no hope left in the kid's big brown eyes, though he doesn't seem to cry as much. Sometimes not crying is almost worse than crying because that means he's just used to the pain that he's been forced to endure.

But the kid is always looking to Tony for help whenever he's so scared or panicked. And Tony's always there. Always. He would never ever leave the kid alone to figure it out himself because he's all Peter's got.

He'll count the breaths out and he'll breathe deeply and he'll repeat the same words of encouragement and reassurance. Just because it's his kid and his kid needs him.

But Tony's not sure how much more the kid can take. He was so sure that Pepper and the Avengers would've found them a week ago when Peter gave them the fake password to hack into SI's data. But it's been a week and nothing.

Tony's scared and Peter's scared. And they have no way of knowing if they'll ever get out of there alive, but they're certain that they'll never be the same again.   
  
  
  


"Have you found anything?!" Natasha demands. She hasn't left the computer in a whole week, checking through every database she could to find to see if she could locate Peter and Tony. She's fallen asleep multiple times head beside the keyboard.

"No! And if you keep asking that, I'll rip your head off," Banner replies, not really angry, but he's losing his patience with the redhead. He's been better than Nat at leaving more often, but he's been pretty attached.

Steve's not good with computers so he just brings them food and water whenever necessary and will drape a blanket over their shoulders when they fall asleep at their stations.

The rest of the Avengers have been scavenging any nearby places where they'd be able to be held captive, but again nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And the more their hope drained, the faster they worked. If their hope was draining, Tony and Peter must be so far past hopeless.

Ned, May, Pepper, and Happy stayed at the Stark Tower waiting for another call or another hack or anything, unable to help in any other way.

To them it seemed like the boys had just disappeared off the face of the earth, considering even Loki and Strange couldn't find them.

All they can do is wait for a sign from the boys.  
  
  
  


One million four hundred sixty-eight thousand eight hundred and forty seconds.

Peter can't even remember what hope feels like. Or happiness. Or even simple peace.

One million four hundred sixty-eight thousand eight hundred and seventy-two seconds.

There are little bits and pieces of memory that float through his head occasionally, especially when he's asleep, but he's never quite certain what they mean or what to do with them, and he doesn't have the heart to ask Tony what they mean.

One million four hundred sixty-eight thousand eight hundred and ninety-four seconds.

The one thing that keeps coming back to him is feeling warm. Something he hasn't felt in as long as he can remember except for the warmth of his blood whenever it trickles down his body. He always remembers warmth. Whether it comes from a soft smile or a hand in his or a hug or soft words sometimes a woman sometimes a man's voice. It's always warm. A good warm.

One million four hundred sixty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty-three seconds.

How many more seconds have to pass before he'll be saved from this hell? He counts because it's the only thing he can do. It's the only thing that keeps his raging stomach and empty mind at peace. Or maybe it's his empty stomach and raging mind. He isn't sure at this point. All he knows is that at times everything feels too much and other times it feels like he's empty and floating away from the rest of his body.

One million four hundred sixty-eight thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven seconds.

Tony's been sleeping for the past eleven thousand one hundred and twelve seconds and counting leaving Peter alone to count as the time passes and wish he had something, anything, in his mind to occupy him. But instead he's left alone in the vast emptiness of the dark stretched out in front of him.

One million four hundred seventy thousand and thirteen seconds.

Tony wakes up and his eyes are drained of everything. Normally he's got at least some pretense hope to make Peter feel better about their chances, but seeing the boy there, absolutely empty as though he's lost his heart and his mind, leaving nothing but a body in its wake, destroys the last bit of hope he's got.

One million four hundred seventy-one thousand five hundred and fifteen seconds.

Tony finally speaks, a simple rough good morning in Peter's direction. Peter wants to correct him, it's not morning. The morning was forty-three thousand seconds ago, but he stays silent, watching as his hero shifts uncomfortably in his chair, trying not to dig his handcuffs into his wrists again.

One million four hundred seventy-one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two seconds.

Peter speaks up, almost too quiet to be heard, "When are we getting out?"

Tony's voice is a void that tries to tug Peter into the pit of hopelessness. "Probably never, kid."

One million four hundred eighty thousand two hundred and twelve seconds.

Peter wants to beg Tony to remember how many times he's promised the kid that they were going to be rescued. He doesn't know how to make Tony hopeful because he can't even remember the faces of the supposed family that were meant to save them. Peter almost wishes that he could get them out of there, but he knows that hating himself won't help the situation.

One million four hundred eighty-five thousand one hundred and ninety-two seconds.

Peter can hear Tony's heart beating from across the room and he almost wonders why it's racing as fast as it is. He can't hear any footsteps outside the door, nobody coming to hurt him again. He watches a bead of sweat race down the side of Tony's face and he almost wants to wipe it away for him. Tony's eyes are facing the floor, unknowingly being stared at by the spider boy.

One million four hundred eighty-five thousand two hundred and thirty-seven seconds.

Tony looks up and Peter suddenly freezes. Tony's eyes are full of tears, awful tears that are so close to slipping over the edge and down his dirty cheeks.

"What's wrong, Mister Stark?" Peter asks, feeling like he's suddenly seven, helpless and scared, not knowing what to do, but he hasn't been seven in three hundred and fifteen million three hundred sixty thousand seconds.

"I never should've gotten you into this. I never should've let you become a superhero. I never should've taken you to Germany and upgraded your suit and allowed you an internship and let you become the friendly neighborhood Spiderman. I never should've gotten you into this mess in the first place," Tony rambles.

And even though the words don't make sense to the amnesiac, Peter knows that Tony doesn't deserve to be hating himself for however, they got here.

"It's not your fault, Mister Stark. There shouldn't be bad people in the world like them. If there weren't bad people then I wouldn't have needed to be a superhero, we wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and none of this would have happened. Bad people are who to blame, not yourself."

One million four hundred eighty-five thousand three hundred and eleven seconds.

Tony doesn't respond for a few moments, trying to get a hold of his breathing for the kid's sake. The worry in Peter's wide brown eyes makes Tony upset. Peter never worries about himself and Tony feels like it's his fault. He didn't voice all this internal hatred, Peter probably wouldn't realize there was anything wrong.

"We need to get out of this place. I can't stand seeing you like this and I can't believe they broke you and I'm so sorry any of this had to happen," Tony says, trying to keep his voice as gentle as he can.

"It's okay. I'm sure we'll be found soon. I'm sure. You just have to have faith that they will. I've been thinking of something and I know how absolutely crazy and stupid it is, but I think it can get our location out to your database. But I'm going to need your help."

One million four hundred ninety thousand seconds.   
  
  


Tony knew there was something horribly wrong with his kid the more they talked about Peter's awful plan. It was like only half his head was there, the other half doing something else, but Tony couldn't figure out what.

Until Peter mumbled a number and confused Tony even further.

"What was that, kid? Why are you thinking about numbers?"

Peter sighs a long defeated sigh and looks up at Tony. He doesn't even look like who he was a month ago. Wide brown eyes utterly empty and drained as Tony felt.

"One million five hundred twenty-one thousand three hundred and twenty-seven," Peter says as though it's self-explanatory, but Tony's more lost than before.

"What is that? One million five hundred what?" Tony asks, shifting his position on his chair and watching the kid look at his dirty feet.

"Seconds. One million five hundred twenty-one thousand three hundred and forty-two seconds. That's how long we've been here."

Tony's already shredded heart seems to break even more. The kid is counting the seconds. He briefly wonders if Peter will stop counting when they get out of here or if his last breath will be counted in this godforsaken place. He wonders if Peter will make it to 2 million before they're either rescued or killed. He hopes not. Either way, he doesn't want Peter to be here for very much longer.

With the plan they're coming up with, they'll either be dead or rescued within the next 24 hours. So hopefully Peter's counting can cease soon.

(I don't actually know anything about technology and stuff so sorry in advance if it's wrong)

Peter can't help but start to cry when Kínzó walks into the room the next morning. He doesn't think he can go through any more pain, but he needs to if they're going to get their location out to the Avengers.

"Pete. Hey, kid. Listen to me. You're going to be okay. I promise. Remember? Like we talked? It's okay. Stay strong, kiddo. Please," Tony begs, watching his kid try his best to breathe deeply.

"Enough of this bullshit. Hopefully, this will be the last time you ever have to see this stupid nuisance," Kínzó says, glaring at the boy.

Peter doesn't fight back, more scared than he's been in a long while. If he fails, they'll die in this place.

Kínzó drags him down the hall to the dreaded room. The one with the chair and the restraints and the switch. The torture chamber where he was electrocuted and cut open.

"Please don't," he whimpers quietly, wishing he could be strong like Tony asked, but he's so scared. What if he forgets the plan? What if he forgets Tony?

"Shut up, spidey. You should know by now that you don't have a choice," Kínzó mutters, attaching him to the chair again looking a little more tired than he should be. Hopefully, that'll make it easier to do what he has to.

Kínzó reaches for the switch when Peter suddenly speaks out.

"Wait. Please. Please, please, please. What can I tell you to make you stop? I'll tell you anything. I won't lie. Please," the kid begs, tears falling down his cheeks to make it more believable.

"And how would I ever believe you?" Kínzó demands, rolling his dark eyes at the struggling kid.

"I'll hack in for you. I've done it before. I hacked my suit. I'll hack the database for you if you swear you won't hurt me," he pleads in return. This was the big awful plan he'd come up with. He needs to hack the system either so carelessly that it'll be easy to track or he needs to find a way to secretly send their location to whoever finds out. The only big problem is, Peter's not sure he can hack it. He's lost his memories so he's not sure he'll remember how to do it. But anything's worth a shot at this point.

"You'd jeopardize everything with Stark just to not get tortured again?" Kínzó asks, sounding genuinely confused.

Peter realizes very quickly that he needs to make his act more believable.

"Please. Please don't hurt me again. You've already taken all my memories. I don't know what to do. I-I can't... I can't do this again, please. Please. I'm sorry. I'll do anything," he whimpers, easily able to bring up the emotions to sob pathetically.

"If you try anything, I swear to god I'll put it on the highest setting and leave you here to die," he hisses, making Peter seriously start to regret deciding to do this.

"Please. I'll hack it. I will. I can. Just please don't hurt me," he cries.

Peter's suddenly jolted up, hands pulled out of his restraints.

Kínzó's hands dig into Peter's shoulders as he's pulled into another room in the maze of this place. There's one pretty old looking computer and a moth-eaten chair that he's forced into.

"Do it," The man says.

A bead of sweat races down the teen's face and clings all the way down his spine as he starts working desperately. He can feel the gun trained on his back and his spidey senses are going insane. He has to move quick or he might have a sensory overload, and passing out would be a really bad option here.

And so he types and types and types. Until the numbness has spread through his fingers and all the way up to his elbows in the cold room. The sweat now cool and sticky, gun unmoving. But Peter doesn't care. He'd rather die than live another die in this hell.

So he continues, leaving a little message here and there in the coding, just one letter at a time so it's not suspicious, spelling out help. Because even he doesn't know where he is.

He hopes that it'll be trackable, hacking into the system in the way he is. Tony had tried to explain the way the security worked and the best way to get through recklessly. Peter didn't quite remember what he was doing, so he lets his fingers take over hoping it's right.

One million six hundred eleven thousand two hundred and sixty-seven seconds. 

Natasha's head whips up from the spot she had been dozing off when the coding suddenly changes, filling in with everything that Peter had just written.

"There seems to be someone trying, and not succeeding too well, to hack into the Stark Industries Database," FRIDAY announces.

Natasha scans the work desperately as Bruce starts working on tracking it with a couple of the people who worked in SI's security watching him type away as the letters kept scrolling in.

The red-headed assassin finally notices a pattern, a single letter that sticks out in every couple of lines of coding.

-H. E. L. P. -P. L. E. A. S. E. -H. U. R. R. Y. - P. E. T. E. R. P. A. R. K. E. R. 

"It's Peter. Peter's hacking it," Natasha breathes, trying to find a location as well as she continues reading through the coding for more hints at a secret message, but she doubts Peter knows where he is.

And finally it changes and the pattern starts again with the miscellaneous letters throughout the system.

-A. V. E. N. G. E. R. S. -P. L. E. A. S. E. -T. R. A. C. K. -T. H. I. S. -B. U. Y. I. N. G. -T. I. M. E. -G. U. N. -O. N. -M. E. -H. U. R. R. Y

"Got it!" Bruce suddenly calls, and everything in both of them seems to suddenly fit together. "Got a location!"

"Yes! Finally! Thank god! They're okay!" Nat screeches. She throws herself at Bruce for a hug and when Steve walks in, planning on scolding them for not going to bed when he asked, he falls apart so happy that his family's alright. 

One million six hundred thirteen thousand five hundred and thirty-eight seconds.


	4. We All Fall Down

Natasha's job is to rescue Peter. That's hers. And Clint's is to rescue Tony. Simple enough. The rest of the Avengers are to fight their way through.

But when they arrive at the big, old, townhouse, it's quiet and they're almost worried that it's not the right location.

Until a loud scream echoes through the air.

"Peter," Steve breathes, racing towards the house in almost desperation. 

Nat finds Peter and almost wants to collapse. He's strapped to a chair, bolts of electricity flooding through his screaming and shuddering body.

Nat's quick to shut off the torture device and Peter's sobbing miserably into his own shoulder.

"Please don't hurt me. Please. Please just leave me alone. I-I can't- I can't do this again. I cant. Please," he whimpers, struggling away from Natasha.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay, Kid. It's me, Nat? Auntie Nat? You're going to be okay," she says, suddenly terrified. Does he not remember?

"I want Mister Stark! Please! P-Please. Please just let me go. I can't. I can't do this. Please. Please just- let me go," he sobs.

The woman with the bright red hair is making his heart race. Who is she? Is she one of the Avengers to save them or is she another person that wants to hurt him?

She fumbles with his shackles but gets them undone making his breathing falter.

All he wants is to find Mister Stark. Find Stark and hug him.

The tears are never-ending and he's choking on the sobs. The world spins as he drags himself to wobbly legs, feeling blood staining his pants and he can't even remember why. He stumbles his way to the door and he can feel the redhead's eyes on his back, but his Spidey Senses aren't freaking out yet.

A soft hand touches his back and he flinches away, hitting his head on the doorframe.

"Don't hurt me, please. Please. Just let me go. Please. I can't- I can't- I can't," He mumbles desperately. It's the redhead.

"No. Peter, little spider, I'm here to help, not to hurt. I swear," she says, eyes big and confused.

The boy continues to pull away from the woman he can't remember.

"Please. I just want Mister Stark," he sobs, hiding his head in his arms for a few moments.

The hand leaves his back and the woman takes a couple steps away from him allowing him to continue his way, stumbling, tripping, and sobbing.

And finally, there he is.

Tony is racing outside the door to his own room, eyes big and scared and worried until they land upon his kid.

His kid who's running at him the best he can all the while shaking and crying out his name.

And they both get the one thing they'd been wishing for since they got into this place over one million six hundred thousand seconds ago.

Peter's arms wrap tightly around Tony's neck as he sobs into his shoulder, unable to believe that he's alive and he gets to hug his hero.

Tony holds onto his kids back, the other hand running through his curls, as they both collapse to the floor. Tony can't help the tears that have started falling down his cheeks because his kid is okay. His kid is okay. His kid is okay. Alive. Right here. In his arms.

The sounds of fighting around them cease, but they don't care. They only care about the other person hanging onto them like a lifeline.

"Let's go," a man says from behind him.

Peter flinches into Tony wanting to get away, but unable to move.

"Kid, kid, it's okay. That's Steve. Captain America, Steve, remember?" Tony murmurs, rubbing the kids back.

He nods quickly and looks up at the big man in fear trying to convince himself that he'll be safe with Tony's arms around him.

The man's face falls when he sees Peter's fear and confusion looking up at him.

"He doesn't remember?" Steve asks, desperately wishing Tony would disagree, say that Peter's okay, even though it's pretty obvious that he's not. Not even close.

"They hurt him real bad, Steve... I couldn't stop it... and they hurt him so so bad," Tony replies, shaking his head as he impossibly draws his kid even closer to him.

"Oh god... We gotta go, though, Tony. We've really gotta get back to the plane. Now. Before reinforcement shows up," the hero says, motioning towards the exit.

The billionaire goes to stand, but Peter refuses to let go of his mentor.

"Please don't go. Don't leave me. Don't go, please," he whimpers, burying his face farther into Tony's sweat-stained, now off-white, t-shirt.

"I'm not going to leave you, okay? I promise. I've got you, kid. I swear. I promised we'd be rescued and we are getting rescued. We have to go, kiddo," Tony murmurs, continuing his soft movements through the kid's hair.

Peter barely nods, unable to convince himself to speak again, knowing he might just sob instead.

"Yeah? Okay, kid. Come on," he says, bringing himself to his feet slowly.

Peter keeps his hold around Tony's neck, but his toes barely touch the ground.

"I can't... I don't think I can walk. Please... I'm sorry," Peter says, voice barely above a whisper.

"That's okay, kiddo. Cap can carry you, okay? You gotta trust him. Trust me, I trust him. He'll carry you to the plane," Tony says, so soft that if Peter didn't have super hearing, he probably wouldn't have heard the words.

He nods. He does trust Tony, with more than his life. So he trusts Steve.

Everything kind of flies by in a blur without Tony's hands stabilizing him. He can't remember Steve's strong arms pulling him up into the air. He can't remember the hallways leaving him behind. He can't remember being joined by the redhead from before who ended up falling behind and tackling another buff man.

He remembers it being too bright and the world spinning around him, colours draining into one. He remembers briefly hearing a jet that's too loud and makes him squeeze his eyes shut and throw his hands over his ears.

And then he's in the air again, feeling safer once Tony's arms are wrapping around his back and his nose buried in Peter's soft curls.

"Mis-Mister Stark?" Peter chokes out, desperate for anything as the tears never stop falling down his pale cheeks.

"Yeah? I'm right here, kiddo. Do you need me to count for you? Or talk?" Tony responds, muffled by Peter's hair.

"Please," the teen whispers, not sure he can even raise his voice any higher.

The Avengers are all watching the two heroes, not speaking a word. They had been missing for almost 3 weeks, and after Natasha had seen Peter go through, all of them realized that comfort wouldn't help them. Especially Peter, who couldn't even remember who they were.

And so Tony started counting very slowly so Peter could match his heavy breathing until his tears ran dry and Tony's throat was aching.

And even when Peter started looking exhausted, Tony kept counting very softly to the small boy.

Finally,  _finally_ , the kid passes out in the older hero's grip, head against his collarbone and wet eyelashes against his pale skin, cheeks tear-stained, but lips finally slack with peace.

Tony keeps counting slowly, hoping to keep the dark clouds of nightmares away from his kid, even though he knows better than most that it's inevitable.

After a few more moments, Natasha speaks up, keeping her voice low. "What the hell happened to you guys? How did Peter end up hacking your database? How are you guys even alive?"

Tony knows he can't move, not wanting to startle his kid, so he speaks so quietly that the Avengers around the room lean in close to hear what he's saying.

"I think the guy knew me or something... He said that he wanted to hurt me by hurting Peter. Which worked. It worked so well. He made us shoot each other for food. He made me listen to his screams... It was awful. He doesn't remember anything from before getting to that place. When he got back from that torture place, I asked him if he had lost his memories like Bucky had and he didn't even remember who Bucky was... It's awful, but I swore I would help him get them back somehow," Tony explains, wincing at the awful memories of listening to his kid's screams.

How  _dare_  they hurt  _his_ kid like that?

How dare they think that they could do something like this with no consequences?

"I'm so sorry... I know how much Bucky struggled with all of this, even now... And Peter's just a kid...." Steve says, sighing at how unfair this situation is.

"Does his Aunt know? Or does she think he's just staying at the tower?"

"For the first couple days, maybe even the first whole week, she didn't really think much of it. She got more worried when the kid's friend, Ned, showed up asking about Peter. Ned came to the tower because Peter hadn't been answering his phone for a few days and was worried. Pepper had been getting a little worried too, but then Ned showed up and everything was sort of propelled into a panic. Nat and Bruce barely left the computer for a long, long time until they got notified that someone was trying to hack into it," Rhodey speaks up from his spot.

"Yeah. That was all Peter. He came up with the whole idea of hacking the database for them and I don't know what exactly he did, but it worked. Unfortunately, they realized that he hadn't done the best job ever and started torturing him all over again."

It was almost hard to believe that the small boy curled up peacefully in Tony's arms was the same boy that had been screaming bloody murder just an hour ago.

Tony sighs, "Thank you for the rescue. If you hadn't shown up when you did... I'm not sure he'd even be alive."

They all see the loving look the billionaire sends towards the curled up kid, but none of them question it. They also don't question it when Tony starts speaking again.

"Shh. You're okay, kid. You're okay. I've got you. You're going to be okay," he whispers, running his fingers softly through his curls when the kid flinches in his sleep.

The rest of the trip is silent, Peter the only one sleeping, and Tony the only one who speaks, occasionally murmuring soft words to keep the kid's sleep as peaceful as he can. 

Peter let Banner check him over and patch up some of his worse wounds, only request that Tony doesn't leave his side.

Tony remembers after the fight on the beach with his plane, he had convinced Peter to go to the hospital with him to make sure he was alright.

Peter had been scared and been having really bad panic attacks after the incident and when they got to the hospital, Peter was reminded a lot of his parents and his uncle. He had been so terrified that he was going to die if Tony didn't make sure that he was okay.

So Tony stayed by Peter's side the whole time and even held Peter's hand when they dressed some of his wounds because Peter was so scared of dying.

And that's what he did again. Holding onto Peter's shaking hand and counting his breaths to make sure he breathes and telling him stories of himself and of Peter to make sure he stays calm. 

Peter doesn't want to be a bother. He doesn't want to feel so small, so he goes to bed by himself, pretending he knows what he's doing when really he doesn't even know himself too well.

He crawls into bed, stripping out of his stained t-shirt and sweatpants he had gotten from that hellhole and unsure what to put on, settled for an old hoodie with MIT logo and a pair of soft iron man pajama pants.

But he knows he won't be able to sleep in the unfamiliar room. Not without Tony. But he also knows that Tony needs his sleep in his own space without constantly worrying about the kid.

So he stays awake for longer than he probably should and around 1 or 2 in the morning, he drags himself out of bed for some water. 

Bucky hears the soft footsteps padding into the room and turns from his spot drinking tea to see the poor kid. His curly hair is ruffled and messy, deep bags under his eyes from yet another sleepless night, skin too pale and too delicate. He's tucked inside an oversized hoodie that used to be Tony's and Iron Man themed PJ bottoms. His doe eyes are wide and have an innocent fear to them.

"Hey, kid. I'm Bucky. You probably don't remember me, so hi," he says, almost awkwardly, but wanting to make it comfortable for the kid.

"Are you friends with Mister Stark?" He asks softly.

"Yeah. Me and him are friends, and me and Steve are pretty close too," the old-souled hero replies.

The kid lights up at that, too tired to really think about him being able to lie and bounces over.

"Is this metal? That's so cool! Is it magnetic? I'm Peter. You already knew that, but hiya! Are you like my uncle? The redhead said she was Auntie Nat, so you could be Uncle Bucky, but that's okay if you're not. Have you ever thought of putting fridge magnets on your arm? You could spell out your name with them!" Peter rambles excitedly, gaining back some of his old confidence.

Bucky smiles and even though they're all the same questions Peter had asked over a year ago, answers them all.

"I have put some fridge magnets on before, Steve likes to tease me like that. It is metal. It used to be really heavy and used to be a killing machine, but you and Tony made a new one for me that's a lot better. You've never called me Uncle Bucky before, the only one who's gotten names is Nat who practically named herself and Thor who also named himself your uncle. But I think me and the rest of the team would certainly be happy to be your uncles and aunts," he says, giving Peter a soft smile.

Peter suddenly looks a little nervous and embarrassed.

"Sorry. I probably shouldn't bug you. I just came for water. You should get some sleep," he mumbles.

"No, it's okay. You're no bother."

Peter doesn't respond, shuffling awkwardly in his place for a few moments, before he finally speaks up, voice barely above a whisper and so so timid like a switch was flipped inside him.

"Um... Can I... Where are the glasses?"

Bucky sighs softly but smiles again encouragingly. "Here, I'll get you one."

Once Peter is settled at the table with his water, Bucky starts talking again, more serious.

"Listen, I know it's tough, trust me, I know. I lost all my memories when I was kidnapped and they turned me into a monster. An awful monster called the Winter Soldier. I killed a lot of people... But Steve rescued me. Just like how they rescued you. Everything will feel awful for now, but all of us are here for you. So never be afraid to ask for help or let us know what's going on with you," Bucky explains.

The kid looks up over his glass, looking smaller than he ever has with his big glassy eyes.

"What if I never get my memories back? I can't remember a time before the torture..." he whispers, frowning and biting his lip.

"I'm sure you will. I have wholehearted faith that you'll get them back, but even if you don't... Even if you don't, you're still the same Peter you always were. And we're going to help you build better memories to replace all the bad ones," Bucky replies, smiling when he sees the little glimmer of hope in the kid.

"Thank you. I should probably get to bed," he murmurs.

"Okay. If you need me, I'll be right down this hall, second door to the left," the older hero says, giving the kid another easy smile. 

He's just about to fall asleep when there's a timid knock on his door.

"It's open," he calls out gently.

The door pushes open and there stands the broken Peter.

He's crying silently, looking frightened and worried and overwhelmed. Bucky's up in an instant, hurrying over to the kid, but scared of touching him.

"I can't sleep... I had a nightmare... I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake up Mister Stark... he needs his sleep too... and I didn't know what else to do," he rambles.

Bucky's thankful the kid isn't having a panic attack, he's not sure what he would've done.

"I'm here if you want to talk about it. If not, I'm here if you need someone to sleep next to," he offers, very carefully touching his shoulder with his good arm.

As soon as his hand touches the kid, Peter's diving into Bucky's arms, desperate for comfort.

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you," he mumbles, hugging onto the guy who felt like a stranger but knew was much more than that.

"It's okay. You're okay. You're never ever going to go through anything like that again. I swear," Bucky replies, taking the words from all the times Steve said them to him.

Peter stays quiet, hanging onto the older like a lifeline.

"Do you want to sleep in here? I promise I don't snore or roll around too much," he suggests, with a soft smile for the kid.

He nods quickly, almost desperately not wanting to be alone.

The two of them curl up in the bed, a light night giving them just enough light to not panic in the darkness. And finally, they both drift off to sleep, both broken, in different stages of healing, but making their way to recovery. 

It's been a couple days and Peter hasn't gotten much better. He doesn't sleep very much, and can never sleep alone. Sometimes curling up between Tony and Pepper, sometimes with Bucky and even once with Natasha. Trying his best to make it work, but nightmares still plague him whenever he shuts his eyes.

He's been having panic attacks whenever he's left alone for too long, all the Avengers have to be very careful to make sure that he's not left alone. Someone even sits outside the bathroom whenever Peter needs to shower.

They never show it, but they're so scared that maybe Peter won't get better.

"Sir, May Parker is here," FRIDAY announces.

"Let her up, I guess. There's no way we can hide Peter forever," Tony responds, wiping the grease off his hands. He's been spending all of his time focusing on his kid, trying to heal him. While healing his kid, he's sort of been helping himself by doing that because if Peter's Okay, so is he.

He races up the stairs to see May running towards her kid who looks scared and confused. May collects him in a hug and Tony knows how wrong that is.

Peter doesn't know who she is.

Tony hurries to push May off of Peter gently who's already started crying.

"May... May come on. You can't... Take a couple steps back," Tony says, ignoring the hurt on her face. He turns to Peter who looks terribly frightened and obviously on the verge of a panic attack. "Pete, kid, go in there. Nat's in there along with Bucky and Steve and Clint. Go ahead. It's alright."

The older gives the kid a quick hug and kiss his temple gently before giving him a little push towards the living room.

"What the hell, Tony?!" May exclaims. He's quick to shush her and lead her off to another room.

"He doesn't remember. We have to be very calm and very easy going with him because of the hell he's been through. You can't just hug him like that. Don't touch him if he doesn't initiate it. You have to be so so careful around him, May. You can't do that to him," Tony explains softly, knowing how much this must be hurting the kid's aunt.

"God... He looks so broken and tired, Tony. What the hell happened to him?"

So the hero explains some of what happened in that awful place, not even remembering some of the gorier details.

"God... my poor baby. I promised his parents and Ben that I'd take good care of him and now this happens..."

"I know. But he's improving... He should be back on his feet soon enough," Tony lies straight through his teeth. Peter hasn't been getting too much better lately, some days are worse than day 1 was. 

Natasha hugs the kid close to her, as he cries and shakes.

"I'm sorry," he whimpers.

"I know, kid, I know. It's not your fault."

He doesn't say anything more, allowing himself to calm down steadily to the sound of Natasha's breathing.

He manages to do so just as Tony walks into the room, rubbing a hand over his face in obvious exhaustion.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't know," Peter sighs, wishing he had something valid to apologize for.

"It's not your fault, kid. May agreed to let you stay here for the next few weeks so you can continue getting adjusted to the outside world again, but she's decided that she's just going to stay out of the way until you're starting to feel better," Tony explains, resting his hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Who was she?"

"She's your aunt. Aunt May. She's who you normally live with when you aren't staying here. She doesn't think she's strong enough to hang around here with you in this sort of state."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could try harder... Wish I could do something more, but my memories just aren't there... I'm really sorry," the teen replies quietly.

A big flash of green light stops the others from denying Peter's apology.

"I heard about what happened," Loki drawls, walking towards the kid.

For once, there's no fear in the pit of Peter's stomach looking at the stranger.

"Hello. I'm Peter," he says, smiling through his bloodshot eyes.

"I'm Loki. And yes, we've already met, but that's alright, spider child. I'm here to offer up my magic and see what I can do to help out," Loki says, smiling at the small kid.

"Hi, Mister Uncle Loki... You have magic?"

Tony sighs. He's never really loved Peter's relationship with Loki, but there was never much he could do, and the older has never once hurt his kid.

"I do have magic. Would you like to see while I discuss some logistics with your family?" A bubble of happiness floating in his chest at being called his uncle.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Please!" Peter squeals, hopping to his feet and racing over to the tall man.

Loki puts on a little light show of magic while he turns to the Avengers.

"Listen, I know you don't trust me, but I feel like I might be able to help. The kid needs some help. I can see if I can tear down the barrier inside his mind that's trying to protect him from the pain."

"Do it," Tony says, he's waited too long for his bouncy, happy kid to come back. And even though bits and pieces of it come up occasionally, it's not the same. He just wants his kid back.

"Are you sure, Tony? What if something goes wrong and it damages Peter even more?" Natasha argues.

Tony rolls his eyes. "Not much more can go wrong. Plus, Peter has always trusted Loki and his magic might as well believe him for once... I just want my kid back, Nat."

The assassin is surprised by the glassy look in his eyes as he says it, and at first, she doesn't even realize that Tony has called Peter his son.

Natasha sighs. "I know, Tony. We all do, but how much are we willing to risk to get him back?"

"Everything."  
  
  


The dream comes in flashes.

Aunt May wrapping her arms around his waist. He's maybe 8 years old. He's crying. Aunt May is shushing him quietly while Uncle Ben puts a little bandaid on his knee that he just scraped.

He's suddenly 12 and he's laughing at something Ned said in class. The teacher scolds them for not paying attention, but they don't mind.

He's 15 and he's swinging through the alleyways as spiderman, sitting on tall skyscrapers, eating churros, helping old ladies cross the street and saving kittens from trees. Friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

He's at SI and Tony is telling him something about his suit upgrades, but he can't focus. He has an Academic Decathlon tournament tomorrow and he's worried he won't do well. Tony slings his arm over his shoulder and leads him towards the door.

"You'll do just fine, kid. You're the smartest person I know besides me. Go home and get some sleep. No more patrol tonight."

He's with Loki, sitting in the kitchen while Steve and Bucky make pancakes for breakfast.

"Mister Bucky, sir, have you ever tried to put magnets on your metal arm? Like fridge magnets? You could spell out your own name so you don't forget. I've forgotten my own name before when MJ asked for it at school. I would've liked a metal arm with fridge magnets then. Hey, Mister Loki? Would you be able to do anything with your magic? Could you become Spiderman if you wanted to? But don't do that. I like being Spiderman. We don't need two. Mr. Captain America, Mister Rogers, Mister Steve, sir. How much can you lift? Can you lift a building? Can you lift Mister Bucky?" He's rambling to the men in excitement.

"Magnets? On my arm? I would only do that If I got a lighter arm to use. Maybe that can go on your project list with Stark."

"I could become Spider-Man, but I could never be as good of a Spiderman as you are."

"I can lift 2,000 pounds. So yes I could lift a building and I could lift Bucky."

"Kid, are you annoying the Avengers again?" Tony asks, wandering into the room with a coffee and a grease-stained t-shirt.

"No, he'd never annoy us. He's got quite an interesting mind."

"Kid. Time for school. Let's go," Happy says, rolling his eyes at the kid.

Tony ruffles Peter's hair, gives him a quick kiss on the forehead and ushers him out the door.  
  
  


He's trapped. He's trapped underneath the building, weight on his back breaking his ribs. He can't breathe. He doesn't have Karen. He doesn't have Mister Stark. He doesn't have anybody. He's going to die alone.

"Help, please. Help. I'm stuck! Help me!" he calls, whimpering as the rocks shift and more pain screams through his back. There are tears in his eyes as his face is pushed closer to the ground. He's going to die.   
  
  


Peter wakes with a start, scaring Tony into waking up as well.

"Hey, kid. I'm right here. You're okay. You're safe. You're with me in the tower. You're okay," Tony rambles, shaking the sleep from his head.

"I-I was trapped. I was trapped underneath the building... I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move-" he cuts himself off.

"What is it, kid? Are you okay?"

"I remember," he whispers.

"What?"

"I remember!" he shouts. "I remember you and Spiderman and Loki and Steve and Bucky and Nat and Aunt May and Ned and school and Homecoming and Uncle Ben and the spider bite and Germany. I remember everything."

Tony thanks Loki under his breath before pulling his kid into a tight hug.

Everything's okay.

Not quite, but okay enough that the things that aren't okay and manageable.

It's still going to be a long time before Peter and Tony are alright. What they went through in that place is something that will give them nightmares for a very, very long time.

Peter still can't sleep by himself even after a few months of being safe. Whenever he's back home with Aunt May, he crawls into bed with her just like he did when he was really young. When he stays at the tower, he gets to pick between a lot of different beds. Sometimes they'll decide to watch a movie and all the Avengers will fall asleep in the same room, making Peter feel safer than he ever does.

He slowly starts going on patrol again, a lot of the time accompanied by another man in a red and black suit with an infatuation with Mexican food.

He contacted Ned a few days after he got his memories back and Ned was absolutely thrilled. He didn't know how to help Peter with all the psychological problems, so he did the only thing he could do, bring over a new star wars lego set for them to build together.

MJ pretended she hadn't been worried but was so over the moon when she found out that Peter was okay and she came over for a long movie marathon with her friend.

Things were finally starting to fall back into place for Peter.

And all that really matters is that he's okay now.

One million seven hundred thousand seconds.

But he has so many more seconds of his life that it's better for him to just move on and stop letting it affect his life.

And even after he's sure the nightmares are gone, after months and months of waking up in cold sweats and tears, even after he starts sleeping by himself in his apartment, he still finds himself curled up between his dad and Pepper. 


End file.
